VOA科学技术2023 3D打印火箭从佛州发射数分钟后坠入大西洋（在线收听）

A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts started its first flight late Wednesday but failed to reach orbit. The 33-meter-long rocket, called Terran 1, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

一枚几乎完全由3D打印零件制成的火箭周三晚些时候开启了它的首次飞行，但是未能进入轨道。这枚长达33米的人族一号火箭从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射升空。

The startup company Relativity Space created 85 percent of the rocket using 3D printing technology. Most parts came from the company's large printing center in Long Beach, California.

初创公司“相对航天”使用3D打印技术制造了这枚火箭85%的零件。大部分零件都来自该公司位于加州长滩的大型打印中心。

Terran 1 took off successfully and stayed in the air for three minutes. The first stage, or lower part, of the rocket launched and separated as planned. The upper stage, however, appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.

人族一号火箭成功发射升空，并在空中停留了3分钟。火箭的第一级按计划发射和分离。然而，更上一级似乎在点燃后又关机，火箭坠入大西洋。

Relativity Space had hoped for the rocket to stay in orbit for several days before falling through Earth's atmosphere and burning up.

相对航天公司曾希望火箭能够在轨道上停留几天，然后掉入地球大气层烧毁。

It was the second failed launch by Relativity Space this month. The company called off an attempt 12 days ago just seconds before takeoff.

这是相对航天公司本月的第二次失败。该公司12天前曾在点火前几秒取消了发射尝试。

Though the rocket did not reach orbit, the company said it was pleased with the launch.

尽管火箭没能进入轨道，但是该公司表示对此次发射感到满意。

Arwa Tizani Kelly works for Relativity Space and discussed the launch. Kelly said that "(first) launches are always exciting and today's flight was no exception."

阿尔瓦·凯利就职于相对航天公司。凯利表示，“首次发射总是令人兴奋，今天也不例外。”

Although other space businesses use 3D-printed materials, the pieces make up only a small part of their rockets.

尽管其它航天企业也使用3D打印材料，但是这些材料只占火箭的一小部分。

Relativity Space was founded in 2015 by two young engineers. The company said it is working to develop larger versions of the rocket that will have even more 3D-printed material.

相对航天公司由两名年轻工程师于2015年创立。该公司表示，它正在努力开发更大型火箭，这些火箭将拥有更多的3D打印材料。